Rotary engine.



PATENTED JUNE 2, 1903. T. A. DIE-BOLD. I ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLIGATION 211.111) OUT. 11, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE A. DIEBOLD, or DES "MOINES, IOWA.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,849, dated June 2, 1903.

Application filed otober-11,1902., Serial No. 126,9 55. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THEODORE, A, DIEBOLD,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of my invention are to provide an engine of this class of simple, durable, and inexpensive construction in which the engine proper rotates around a central stationary shaft, the engine receiving its impetus at certain points during its cycle of movement from each of a number of independent pitman-rods, each of which is connected with an ordinary reciprocating pitman, thus combining to a material extent the desirable features of both rotary and reciprocating engines.

A further object is to provide simple, du-" rable, and easily-operated means for reversing an engine of this class.

A further object is to provide simple, durable, and easilyoperated means whereby the flow of steam to each independent cylinder may be quickly, easily, and accurately adjusted, as required, to cut off at any point during the piston-stroke when manually held by automatically-working devices.

My invention consists in certain details in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplatedare attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the complete engine. Fig. 2 shows a vertical central transverse sectional view through the engine proper, the dotted lines illustrating the position ofthe steam-passages. Fig. 3 shows a vertical central longitudinal sectional View through the engine. Fig. 4 shows a face view of the steam cut-off disk. Fig. 5 shows an edge view of same, and Fig. 6 shows a face view of the disk containing the steam inlet and exhaust openings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference-numeral10 to indicate the standards in which the shaft 11 is rotatably mounted. v The numeral 12 indicates a hub on said shaft, firmly connected therewith by the key 13. Firmly fixed to this hub 12 is a handle 14, provided with a spring-actuated bolt 15, engaging a toothed segment 16, formed on or fixed to one of the standards 10, so that the shaft 11 may beturned and rigidly secured in any position desired.

. Loosely mounted upon the shaft 11 is a disk 17, having a small segmental inlet-opening 18 and a large segmental exhaust-opening 19 formed therein and communicating, respectively, with the inlet-pipe 20 and the exhaustpipe 21, the said inlet-pipe 20 being provided with a cut-off valve 22. On the periphery of disk 17 is an outwardly-projecting roller 23 for purposes hereinafter made clear, and in the face of said disk 17, surrounding the inlet and exhaust openings, is a packing-ring 24.

Loosely mounted upon the shaft 11, adjacent to disk 17, is a cut-off disk 25, having extended through it in a direction parallel with the shaft-opening a segmental inlet passage-way 26 and a large segmental exhaust passage-way 27, and on the face thereof adjacent to disk 17 is a groove 28, shaped to receive the packingring 24. Upon the periphery of the disk is a handle 30, projected radially for purposes hereinafter described.

The engine comprises a hub 31, rotatably mounted upon shaft 11, and a body portion 32, having four radial cylinders 33 formed therein, all communicating with a central chamber 34 and each provided with a detachable central head 35 at its outer end. A plate 36 is bolted to one end of the body portion 32 to center the shaft 11. The outer portion of each of the cylinders 33 has a steam passage-way 37, communicating therewith ,and extending inwardly through the body portion and then through the hub 31 to communicate with the steam passage-ways 26 and 27 in the block 25.

In each of the cylinders 331s a piston 38 of ordinary construction, and a piston-rod 39 connects therewith and also with a hub 40, which hub is rotatably mounted upon a crank-arm 41, formed in the shaft 11.

I have provided means whereby the cutoff disk may be automatically operated as follows: Slidingly mounted upon the hub 31 is a collar 42, having an internal annular groove. This collar is connected with the engine-body by means of the weighted levers 42, pivoted to lugs 43 and connected by links 44 with lugs 45 on collars. The extensile springs 46 are connected with said levers and with the engine-body, as required to normally hold the weighted ends of the lever toward the shaft 11. By this means the collar 42 is made to rotate with the engine and yet to be capable of sliding longitudinally on the engine-hub.

Thenumeral 47 indicates a sleeve slidingly mounted upon the disks 17 and 25 and provided with a projecting rim 48, entering the annular groove in the collar 42. This sleeve is capable of longitudinal movement only and isheld in position by means of the roller 23, passing through alougitudinal slot 49, formed in thesleeve. I have fixed to the sleeve 47 an inwardly-projecting roller 50 to enter the spiral groove 29, formed in disk 25, so that a longitudinal movement imparted to sleeve 47 will tend to rotate disk 25 to a limited extent.

Connected with the plate 36 is a collar 51, to which a pulley 52 is keyed, and mounted upon the opposite end portions of the shaft 11 are the extensile coil-springs 53 and 54, the spring 53 engagingthe hub 12 at one end and a disk 17 at its otherend and the spring 54 engaging the pulley 52 at one end and the standard 10 at its other end, thus firmly holding the partsof the engine together, so that steam may not escape between the disks 17 and 25 and the hub 31.

In pract-icaluse and assuming the valve 22 to be open it is obvious that steam will pass through the inlet passage-way 26 and through the passage-way 37 to the outer end of one of the cylinders 33. The shaft 11 is previously set by means of lever 14, so that the cylinder into which the steam is first admitted is in position where the expansion of steam in the cylinder will force the piston inwardly and turn the crank-arm 41 in one direction. In this connection it may be noted that if it is desired to start the engine in a reverse direction it is only necessary to change the position of the crank-shaft by a manipulation of the lever 14, so that steam is first admitted into the cylinder at the opposite side of the engine, it being understood that the inlet-opening 18 is long enough so that one of the passage-ways 37 is in communication with the opening 18 at all times. Obviously as soon as the steam passage-way 37 has passed beyond the passage-way 26 the steam-supply is cut off, and when the passage-way 37 reaches a point where it communicates with passage way 27 the steam may exhaust through the passage-way 19 and through the exhaust-pipe 21. Obviously the steam may be admitted to the cylinder throughout strokes of different length by simply moving disk 25 relative to the disk 17that is to say, when the openings 18 and 26 coincide with each other a large quantity of steam is admitted and when they are moved to'a position out of alinement with each other a comparatively small quantity of steam is admitted. However, the exhaust-opening 27 is made somewhat longer than the exhaust passage-way 19, so that the full capacity of the exhaust-opening is used no matter at what point the steam is cut off by the openings 26 and 18. I have provided means whereby this disk 25 may be manually operated to cut 0% at different points by means of the handle 30, which the operator may grasp and manually turn the disk and hold it in any desired position, or the position of the disk 25 may be regulated automatically in proportion to the speed of the engine by means of the governing device. Assuming the engine to be rotated at a high speed, the weighted levers 42 are thrown outwardly by centrifugal force against the resistance of springs 46, thus moving the collar 42 longitudinally, and with it the sleeve 47. By means of the roller 50 in the slot 29 a longitudinal movement of sleeve 47 is made to rotate disk 25 a short distance, sufficient to effect a cut-off of the steam between the openings 18 and 26. Obviously the engine is cheap, simple, and durable in construction, and the maximum efficiency of the steam utilized.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is-

1. In an engine of the class described, the combination of a shaft having a crank-arm therein, and engine-body rotatably mounted upon the shaft and having a number of radial cylinders closed at their outer ends and also having passage-ways extending from the outer ends of the cylinder to one end of the engine-body, a piston in each cylinder, apiston-rod connected with each piston and also with said crank-arm, a cut-off disk journaled on shaft adjacent to the disk having inlet and exhaust openings, a second disk rotatably mounted upon the shaft and inlet and exhaust openings communicating with the cutoff disk, a steam-supply pipe communicating with the said opening, a lever connected with the shaft and means for securing said lever in different positions for the purposes stated.

2. In an engine of the class described, the

combination of a shaft rotatably supported and having a crank-arm, an engine-body rotatably mounted on the shaft surrounding the crank-arm and having a number of radial cylinders and a passage-way for each cylinder communicating at one end with the outer end of the cylinder, and leading to one end of the engine, a cut-off disk journaled on the shaft adjacent to one end of the engine and having fixed to the shaft, a spring-actuated pawl on an inlet'opening and an exhaust-port, capathe lever, and a notched sector to be engaged ble ofcommunicating with said passage-ways, in the pawl for the purposes stated.

means for automatically rotating said disk on THEODORE A. DIEEOLD. 5 the shaft, asecond disk adjacent on the first, Witnesses:

having inlet and discharge openings commu- J. RALPH ORWIG,

nicating with those of the cut-off disk, a lever HAZEL VVEDGWOOD. 

